Heart Screens for Teens

On Wednesday night, many Walker students will be going to the gymnasium to get their annual physical, and a small group, including myself, will be getting a heart screen.  At first it seems odd for teenagers to be getting a heart screen because heart problems are traditionally associated with older people.  I was very skeptical last year, but in actuality, every athlete should have his or her heart screened.

According to Heart Screens for Teens, 1 in 500 teenagers have Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM), a thickening of the heart muscle that makes it difficult to pump blood. HCM is the number one cause of sudden cardiac death in teenagers.  In addition, about 2,000 people under the age of 25 die from sudden cardiac arrest each year, and athletes are at 3 times a greater risk than others for an attack. As teenage athletes, we are more prone to not taking care of bodies and pushing ourselves further.

Being on the track team last year, my mom wanted to me to have a heart screening, and from my visit I learned that I have mitral valve prolapse, one of the more common congenital heart defects.  The program Walker offers is at a greatly lowered price with one heart screen being only $65, and it was worth every penny.  With so many athletes at Walker, I’m surprised more students do not take advantage of this opportunity.  It is a cheap price to pay to prevent any future problems and have a peaceful mind.

#STDs

Did you know that while young people represent only 25% of the sexually active population, 50% of STD cases occur in people ages 15 to 24?  The CDC and public health officials believe that in order to decrease this statistic, teenagers need more education on safer sex.  While the traditional sex-ed classes in middle and high school do some good, the CDC is looking into other ways to educate young people.  Today, social media has become the fastest way to spread information through Facebook, blogs, or even Twitter.  With these popular forms of social media being mostly used by the CDC’s target population, Twitter and Facebook could become a major source of advertising for public health purposes.  With this in mind, the CDC has decided to host a Twitter chat this Monday at 1:00pm to talk about STD testing and safety.   I personally think this is a fantastic way to spread information, as teenagers are more likely to read a series of tweets rather than an article on protecting themselves from STDs.   Through retweets and trending topics, Tweeting is a low key way for teenagers to get the needed information and tell their friends about it.  #checkitout

Sit Back and Enjoy the Fire

The CDC cites polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, PAHs, as “reasonably anticipated” carcinogens as they have been found to create dermal, hepatic, and immunological diseases after exposure.  PAHs represent a group of over 100 different chemicals that are formed during incomplete burning of coal, oil, gas, garbage, or other organic substances like tobacco or charbroiled meat.  A study done in 2012 showed that people in the work force who were exposed to PAHs had an increased risk of developing lung cancer than those without exposure, but only very high exposure rates showed a development of cancer.

Maybe my love of grilled meat persuades me, but PAHs do not present enough danger to be number one on the chemicals to be eradicated list because other carcinogens present a higher risk.  Public health programs are already in place to end smoking, and green energy programs are trying to move away from coal, oil, and gasoline.  Grilling usually takes place in warm months, which limits the population’s exposure.  Because the world is already showing a trend of moving away from the causers of PAHs, we should focus on chemicals that present a higher risk.

The Slut Vaccine

The human papillomavirus virus (HPV) will affect 75% to 85%of males and females in their lifetime, and some cases will result in cervical, vaginal, and vulvar cancers in females and genital warts in males and females.  HPV is transferred with any genital contact with someone with HPV, and some cases are passed unknowingly because the virus may have no symptoms. There is currently a vaccine that can help prevent these diseases, and it is typically given to 11 and 12 year old boys and girls before sexually activity begins.  Why then are some parents refusing the vaccine? Some parents argue that their child is not sexually active, so they don’t need it. Others have labeled it the “slut vaccine” for only sexually active teenage girls.  Parents need to wake up and smell the hormones.  By their 19^th birthday, 70% of teenagers will have intercourse.  Refusing the vaccine does not make your child refuse sex.  In comparison, how is this different from the Hepatitis B vaccine, another sexually transmitted disease? Getting vaccinated before there is any question of sexually activity will ease parental concern of safe sex and will prevent any accidents.

Help Save Hand Washing

Think about how many objects a person touches every day: chairs, tables, door handles, writing utensils, computers, bags, handrails, food etc.  Now match that statistic with the idea that the average person touches their face 2000 times a day. The best way to prevent diseases from transferring from surfaces to our bodies is hand washing.  As the simplest form of disease prevention, the CDC suggests, “it has the potential to save more lives than any vaccine.”  Today, it is estimated that 85% of adults wash their hands after using a public restroom, which is up from rates of previous years.  However, that is not enough.  At The Walker School in Marietta, Georgia, it was found that almost 50% of upper school boys do not wash their hands after using the bathroom.  Maybe it is time to redesign the public health campaigns in both high school and public restrooms.  The basic posters have become white noise, and the population feels like skipping this step is acceptable.  Colored paper towels, music in the bathroom, a different layout, maybe just new posters will help direct students and adults attention to help increase hand washing rates.

Check out this news story by ABC: http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Wellness/hand-washing-rates-time-high/story?id=11632125#.T0EmSWD-IXw